MR2ZZ and I say Hi

[blown59]

Hello All!!!

Just wanted to drop in and introduce my self and my 2. My name is Jeff, 28 and live outside of St Louis. I am on my second MKI MR2.

The first one I owned (white '88 stripper) was in highschool. I eventually traded it in on a Grand Cherokee. I regretted trading the first MR2 and had been looking for one for little over a year. About a year ago, I came across a deal too good to pass up. 2nd owner's wife had ran it low on oil and spun a bearing. Other than that, a pristine car.

I was planning an engine swap anyway and what better doner. So I bought my red '86 fully loaded with leather. Spent about $130 or so for a set of rod bearings and clutch and was back on the road.

Now to decide on an engine to swap.

20v - a few, been done, moderate hp increase
gze - been done, moderate increase, build potential
turbos, v6's... they've all been done

I wanted a naturally aspirated, light weight peppy engine... and something that hasnt been done. The 2ZZ-GE became my choice after alot of research. About a year ago prices really began to climb for these engines so I got in at the right time... another deal too good to pass up.

The engine is JDM from the Toyota Fielder, but can be found in the RunX or Allen, too. Of all things my engine came from a Japanese Corolla Mini-Van. Almost certain to not have been run hard and about 35k on it and the 6spd. Puchased it along with the engine harness and ECU for a package deal.

I got the car running back in late June and began driving it in July. Ive been having fun with her since. I feel the car is capable of low 14's high 13's and would probably surprise a MK1.5 owner. All from a n/a motor... and revvvy to boot.

[Mister2.2]

Welcome to the board! That sounds like a pretty neat build up, I would really like to see some pictures of it, video if possible!

[N8s93turbo]

WELCOME!

[mr220v]

I'm looking at the pics of your passenger side mount on your cardomain writeup. On page two, it says that the lower two bolts line up, but on the next page, it only looks like one lines up and that you used an adapter of some sort.

I'm assuming this plate bolts on top of the whole assembly. I'm wondering if you could just use the one bolt? Although that might be a little risky.

[canadam]

Good work Can't wait to see the swap, put some pics in your Member Garage.

[Hiighboost2]

Welcome

[blown59]

Originally Posted by mr220v

I'm looking at the pics of your passenger side mount on your cardomain writeup. On page two, it says that the lower two bolts line up, but on the next page, it only looks like one lines up and that you used an adapter of some sort.

I'm assuming this plate bolts on top of the whole assembly. I'm wondering if you could just use the one bolt? Although that might be a little risky.

You are correct, an adapter was made to sandwich the engine mount to the chassis mount. The plate shown on page 3 is the corrected version. Bolt runs through all 3 layers on hole 3. Top plate is connected to engine mount by hole 1. Holes 2 & 4 connect cover plate to chassis mount. There are pieces of pipe sandwiched in between on holes 2 & 4 to prevent stress on the bolt of hole 1. Hope that's a bit clearer.

And as far as using the one, sure you can do it... but I dont want to be the one to try it. Especially being the guina-pig and throwing all my work out the window for a short cut

[mr220v]

This is the swap people need to be doing instead of the mk1.5. I'm pretty confident that this swap will keep up with most mk1.5's, at least with a stock gen2 3sgte. Of course the tuning potential of the 2zz is lower, but this would be a far easier swap than the 3sgte and would have a big weight advantage.

I'm still considering the 2zz swap though. The 20v is a nice swap, cheap and easy (at least with my pnp harness it is). Total cost for my customers usually ends up around $1000-$1500 depending on whether its a Blacktop or Silvertop.

Of course any wiring harness I made, I would be able to duplicate.

One thing I noticed on this swap, and other's where you need to accomodate the returnless fuel system, is that the regulator is always mounted in the tank. why not mount it outside the tank to save time? I know some of the earlier returnless systems used an out of tank regulator (98 avalon I think).

Do you have any more pics of the completed swap? I'm curious as to what the exhaust manifold looks like.

[blown59]

Originally Posted by mr220v

Do you have any more pics of the completed swap? I'm curious as to what the exhaust manifold looks like.

Sorry about not getting back sooner... For some reason my computer is not reading my digi. Ive tried to re-install software several times to no avail.

Yes, I do have more pics, incl. the custom 2-1 merge connector I made for the header. As soon as I get the camera to upload, I will update my cardomain site.

PS.. check the other board in the swap section. I have a buddy who will be needing a harness for his ST.